Bracelet clasp



C. SILVERMAN BRACELET CLASP July 4, 1950 Filed June 29, 1946 INVENTOR.Wat-4w Patented July 4, 1950 BRACELET CLASP Charles Silverman,Providence, R. I.

1 Application June 29, 1946, Serial No. 680,437

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to the jewelry art, and has particularreference to a novel finding for a, bracelet clasp.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a positive lockagainst accidental separation of the clasp parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a very simple constructionfor a bracelet snap clasp, which has a manually movable lock element. 1I I Still another object of the invention is to provide a bracelet claspconstruction which has a pivoted lock element movable to positivelyp'revent eparationof the clasp parts.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view,theinvention consists of a novel arrangementlof parts more fullydisclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in the claimsappended thereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred construction for abracelet snap clasp, the parts being in assembled locked relation;

Fig. 2 is a detail section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the clasp parts in separatedrelation;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modifiedlocking arrangement;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the resilient tongue of Fig. 4.

It has been found desirable to provide an additional safety lock forbracelet and necklace clasps of the snap engagement type, to positivelyensure against accidental separation of the clasp parts.

To this end, I have provided a locking member which may be manuallyturned so as to turn to lock the connected clasp parts againstaccidental eparation, the locking member being securely held in itslocking position by spring tension.

Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of my invention isillustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The clasp body, designated ID, is ofthe usual hollow box type, the rear end II being adapted to be securedto one end of a bracelet or necklace chain, and the forward end I2comprising a downwardly extending lock flange I3, a longitudinal slot I4extending across the flange I3 and rearwardly back in the top wall I5 ofthe clasp body I0. Associated with the clasp body is a snap element I6whichhas a body portion II in the form of a flat plate and adapted to besecured to the other end of a bracelet or chain,

the snap elementhaving an engaging tongue I8 at the forward end thereofintegral with thebody portion I1 and-resiliently urged upwardly at aslight angle to the body portion, as illustrated, the rear edge I9 ofthe tongue being adapted to snap seat against the inner surface of thedepending flange I3 when the snap element I6 is inserted in theclasp'body In, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The tongue I8 is provided withan upstanding finger 20 having its upper surface knurled, and having alongitudinal slot 2| adapted to be positioned above .the top wall I5 ofthe clasp body II) when the parts are in assembled relation to provide aportion overhanging the top wall I5, the upstanding finger 20 beingsecured to the tongue I8 in any suitable manner, the preferred mannerbeing illustrated in Fig. 2, and comprising an extension which passesthrough a suitable opening in the tongue I8, and is soldered orotherwise riveted at the lower portion thereof. When the finger 20 ismanually depressed the edge I9 of the tongue I8 moves below the flange I3 and the snap element may then be withdrawn from the hollow clasp bodyIII.

A pivot plate 22 is swivelly mounted at its forward end 23 to the rearend of the clasp housing I0, and is bent or curved as illustrated ,inFig. 2, to provide a central upstanding portion 24 which has a depressedarea 25 positioned at the back of the pivot member 22. After the snapelement I6 has been snapped into the clasp body III, the pivot member 22is moved, as by means of an upstanding finger engageable bar 26, to passthe rear end of the pivot member through the slot 2| until the upperoverhanging portion of the upstanding finger 20 snaps into thedepression 25, whereby the upstanding finger is releasably lockedagainst downward movement.

The novel construction thus provides a double lock, namely, the usuallock obtained by the snapping engagement of the rear edge of theresilient tongue I8 with the downwardly extending flanges I3, and thesnap seating of the upper portion of the upstanding finger 20 in thepivot member recess 25, the two locks thus providing positive assuranceagainst accidental separation of the clasp parts.

The above described clasp construction utilizes a separate pivot member,but it has been found desirable for certain types of bracelets andchains, to provide a simpler clasp arrangement, as illustrated in Figs.4 and 5. In this construction the clasp body 2'! is of imilarconstruction to the clasp body it of Fig. 1, and includes a top wall 28and two downwardly extending end flanges 29, separated by a slot 30which extends rearwardly into the top wall 28, as illustrated. The snapelement 3| is generally similar to the snap element I6 of Fig. 3, exceptthat the up standing finger 32- has a depending reduced portion 33 whichis swivelly secured in the resilient tongue 34 of the snap element at apoint intermediate the front and rear edges thereof, preferably byhaving a reduced portion 35 which extends through a suitable opening inthe resilient tongue 34, and is then swaged over-to providea pivotalmounting. The upper edge of the upstanding finger 32 is knurled asillustrated.

When the upstanding element 32 is turned so'as to be in the plane of theslot 30, the Snap element 3! maybe readily snapped into the clasp body21', with the'edg'e 36=of the resilient tongue 34' seated against therear surface of the down-. wardly extending flange fingers 29 and theelenient 32 slightly pulled down due to its location on the down slope'ofthe resilient tongueli l. The upstanding element 32 is now turned'transversely in the position shown in Figsg'e and 5, whereupon the claspparts'become'locked' to gether against accidental separation, as theresilience of the spring tongue 34 maintains the upstanding finger 32 inits transverseposition.

The novel arrangement thus provides a double lock against accidentalseparation.- i r Although I have described specific constructionalembodiments of my invention it i obvious thatchanges' in the size, shapeand arrangement ofthe parts may be made to suit the requirements fordifferent clasp designs, without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claim. r l

I claim:

A snap clasp construction comprising a hollow body having top, side andbottom wall and an open end, the top wall having a downwardly dependingflange at the open end, the top wall and the flange having alongitudinal slot, and a snap element having a base for removableinsertion into the body open end and an inclined resilient tongueadapted o seat in said slot and manually depressable to unseat thetongue from the top wall flange, said finger including an upper portionadapted to overhang the top wall in spaced relation thereto, and a lockmember swivelled to the top wall and movable to position its outer endbeneath the overhanging upper tongue portion for locking the tongueagainst depression,

7 said lock; member outer end being curved upwardly and having a centraldepression, whereby the upper portion of the finger is adapted to snapseat in the depression.

CI-IAHEES 'SILVERMANI; REFERENCES iTED The renewing references are ofrecord m me file of this patent:

UNITED STATES. PATENTS Number Name Date 291,519 Jones a Jam, 8, 1884724,986 Wolf Apr. "7;, 1903 1,631,824 Jones -2 June 7, 1927 1,648,062Russell NOV; 8,1927 2,270,814 Scribner Jan, 20, 1942 PATEN TS NumberCountry Date a 22,610 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1895. 125,918 Great-BritainMay 21, 19,19.

